Exhibition · Hauser & Wirth · Hong Kong
‘I pierce this canvas that was the basis of all art and I have created an infinite dimension. The idea is right there, it is a new dimension corresponding to the cosmos.’ — Lucio Fontana Beginning 17 September 2026, Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong presents a major exhibition by Argentine-Italian artist Lucio Fontana (1899 – 1968). Titled ‘Lucio Fontana: Spatialism. Pioneering the Contemporary’ and featuring seminal works from 1949 onward, the exhibition focuses on Fontana’s revolutionary Buchi (Holes) and Tagli (Cuts), tracing the evolution of the Spatialism movement he founded and his radical exploration of the canvas as a site of infinite possibility. Breaking the boundaries between painting and sculpture, Fontana transformed the canvas into a dynamic area of light, gesture and movement. His punctured and slashed surfaces, central to Spatialism, fundamentally redefined the relationship between artwork and space. Through an innovative aesthetic, his visionary practice paved the way for postwar contemporary art and continues to inspire artists around the world. Curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, in collaboration with the Fondazione Lucio Fontana, the Hong Kong exhibition marks the last highlight of a trilogy, following presentations in Los Angeles (2020) and New York (2022 – 2023). A major new publication on Fontana is forthcoming from Hauser & Wirth Publishers on the occasion of the exhibition. This volume marks the first widely available introduction to the artist’s practice in Simplified Chinese, offering Chinese audiences a comprehensive account of his groundbreaking career spanning from the 1920s to late 1960s, alongside specifically translated writings by the artist. About the Exhibition The exhibition begins its journey in 1949, the pivotal year that saw the birth of Fontana’s revolutionary Buchi (Holes) series. Initially perceived as a scandalous gesture, the act of piercing the canvas transcended all pictorial limits, opening up a positive, futuristic dimension…